Factors Associated with High Ball Release Speeds in Elite Pace Bowlers in South Africa

Abstract

Background Fast bowling is an important skill contributing to the success of cricket teams. Past research has shown that there is a correlation between some anthropometric and biomechanical factors and ball release speed. However, there is no clear consensus on which factors, specifically, contribute to high ball release speeds. This study therefore aims to investigate the age, sex, anthropometric, and biomechanical factors associated with ball release speed. Method A secondary data analysis was done of 53 biomechanics reports of elite cricket pace bowlers. The reports of uninjured elite bowlers who were aged 18 and above and were contracted to Cricket South Africa were included in the study. The primary study was conducted at the cricket nets of Cricket South Africa Centre of Excellence in Pretoria. The XSens inertial sensor was used to record the bowler’s bowling techniques. Ball release speed was measured using a hand-held radar speed gun (Stalker ATS, Texas). Accuracy was measured using a target behind the stumps based on the target used by Cricket Australia. The correlation between age, sex, anthropometric, and biomechanical factors with ball release speed was tested using Spearman’s correlation. Results The male pace bowlers (age 24.1±0.3; height 1.9±0.8m; mass 84.0±10.4; BMI 23.9±5.0kg/m²) had a higher mean ball release speed (128.2±2.4 km/h) than their female counterparts (age 24.8±3.7; height 1.6±0.1; mass 61.9 ±7.8; BMI 22.5 ± 2.3) who had a ball release speed of 95.2 ± 3.6km/h. There was a positive correlation between age (ρ=0.353, p=0.005), mass (ρ=0.230, p=0.077) and BMI (ρ= 0.442, p<0.001) in female pace bowlers whereas in males there was a positive correlation between height and ball release speed (ρ=0.256, p=0.002). There was a positive correlation between front knee angle at front foot placement and ball release speed (ρ= 0.203, p=0.016; ρ=0.182, p=0.140) for both males and females respectively. iv Conclusion Physiotherapists can target relevant muscle groups when training pace bowlers in order to enhance their performance. Female and male pace bowlers use different strategies to generate ball release speeds and there is a need for further research into female cricket in order to better inform coaching and rehabilitation practices.